TEMPE, Ariz. – In front of an uproarious, record-breaking crowd of 8,522, the No. 5 Arizona State wrestling team handed No. 1 Penn State its first loss in a dual since 2015, defeating the Nittany Lions 19-18 Friday night at Desert Financial Arena.
DOWN GOES NO. 1 PENN STATE‼️@ASUWrestling snaps their 60-meet win streak and hands them their first loss since 2015! pic.twitter.com/KuSnzhPlFZ
— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) November 23, 2019
The Sun Devils started off strong out of the gate thanks to an 18-7 major decision victory by Brandon Courtney (125 lbs.), giving ASU an early 4-0 lead in the dual. With the victory, the redshirt-sophomore moves to a perfect 9-0 on the season.
BEST IN THE BIZ: What we know about the No. 1-ranked wrestler in every weight class, right now
Penn State then pulled ahead with consecutive victories at 133 and 141 lbs.
ASU would regain the lead at the 149 lbs. weight class as No. 21 Josh Maruca fought a tough battle to earn a 5-4 decision over childhood teammate Josh Verkleeren.
In the first home match of his Sun Devil career, redshirt-freshman Jacori Teemer (157) followed up with an 8-4 decision, bringing the score to 10-8 in favor of the Sun Devils heading into the intermission.
After the Nittany Lions won the first two matches coming out of the break to go-ahead 15-10, a Penn State forfeit at the 184 lb. weight class saw ASU pull ahead yet again, this time regaining the lead at 16-15.
Wrestling for the first time in almost a year, junior Kordell Norfleet put on a heroic performance, earning a 10-4 decision which extended the Sun Devils' lead to 19-15.
🗣 @KD70_ TAKEDOWN‼️
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) November 23, 2019
📺 Pac-12 Arizona
💻 https://t.co/UwOL9WNscr pic.twitter.com/7vof388mg1
The decision ultimately gave ASU what they needed to put the Nittany Lions away, as Penn State's win at 285 lbs. was not enough to give them the edge in the dual.
WE CAN HOPE: The dream college wrestling matchups we’d like to see this season — at every weight
Next up for ASU, the team heads to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Invitational Friday-Saturday, Dec. 6-7. Fans can follow along by following @ASUWrestling on Twitter.
Match-by-match breakdown
- 125: Brandon Courtney (ASU) MD Brody Teske (PSU), 19-7
- 133: #3 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) DEC #11 Josh Kramer (ASU), 7-6
- 141: #3 Nick Lee (PSU) TF Cory Crooks (ASU), 18-3 (4:28)
- 149: #21 Josh Maruca (ASU) DEC Josh Verkleeren (PSU), 5-4
- 157: Jacori Teemer (ASU) DEC Bo Pipher (PSU), 8-4
- 165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph (PSU) DEC #5 Josh Shields, 7-4
- 174: #1 Mark Hall (PSU) MD #8 Anthony Valencia (ASU), 11-3
- 184: #1 Zahid Valencia (ASU) FOR
- 197: Kordell Norfleet (ASU) DEC Kyle Conel (PSU), 10-4
- 285: #1 Anthony Cassar (PSU) DEC #5 Tanner Hall (ASU), 9-5
